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<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 2895232" data-attributes="member: 40177"><p><strong>Well, it could be worse</strong></p><p></p><p>I'm a sucker for alternate-rules books for D&D. I have the Unearthed Arcana, and I must have read and re-read that book a hundred times. Anything that lets me tweak the game to better suit my personal tastes, and I'm happy. In fact, this little mania has reached the point that if a book I buy has even ONE PAGE of rules goodness that I can add to my game, I'm usually a happy camper.</p><p></p><p>The Advanced Player's Guide didn't give me one thing that I thought was all that useful. Artistically, the book is very nice, though. There is a cross between traditional fantasy art and anime. The cover of the book, and the lettering of the title, is reminiscint of 2nd edition D&D - something I found enchanting, actually.</p><p></p><p>Each chapter of the book deals with various rule expansions that stand alone. This is great for a "rules expansion" book, since it makes it very easy for DM's to pick and choose what rules they wish to add to their games. This was definately a plus for me; I know I would have been miffed if the game introduced a new system or a mechanic that infused every rule in the book. </p><p></p><p>(it can happen; 2e's Skills and Powers is an excellent example, although WotC's Heroes of Horror book, with it's emphasis on the taint mechanics, also springs to mind).</p><p></p><p>The first chapter of this book focuses on "character options", although there is no way I would let any of my players NEAR this part of the book. The first idea, "Heroic merits" and "Tragic flaws" is an interesting one - namely, if a character has weak ability scores, he gets a "boost" in power, while characters with high ability scores suffer from a "flaw". All in all, the idea is in intriguing one, although it is carried out poorly. As an example, a character with a low wisdom could gain a bonus to will saves against fear effects. An interesting idea, but this merit is only possible if the character ALSO has a high intelligence... which sort of cancels out the whole idea. </p><p></p><p>The idea of hitting players who rolled well on their abilities with some sort of flaw also annoys me a bit, and I imagine it would anger my players, as well. Since there is no cpmpensation for taking a tragic flaw, the decision to use this system is entirely in the DM's hands. A big problem here is, of course, that players will feel "punished" for their high ability scores. Also, it seems to me that the tragic flaws are more harmful than the heroic merits are beneficial - it almost seems like this system is designed to harm high-rolling players. I doubt the system would work well if a feat compensation system was worked out, either - Unearthed Arcana accomplished this idea much better, in my opinion.</p><p></p><p>Racial Class Modifiers, in the same chapter, reminds me a lot of the racial substitution class levels, and I think some of the ideas presented could be used as such. But they are a "something for nothing" addition that pretty much serves to make every single PC slightly better. More or less, the system works like this: you take a class, and you take a racial ability (such as a dwarven fighter's +1 bonus on all will saves, or an elven ranger's +2 bonus on all spot checks) allowable by your race. While this is another interesting idea, the mechanical implementation of the idea is poor at best. Some of the racial abilities are salvageable; I'd suggest a DM take these racial modifiers and use them in specially-created racial substitution levels. </p><p></p><p>The Second Chapter, based around classes, doesn't really add anything new to the game, except for some bland PrCs. </p><p></p><p>The new Prestige Classes are alright, I suppose, although I don't feel they add anything new to the game. They certainly aren't new rules expansions. The Gallowglass is a heavy-armour PrC for players obsessed with AC. The Elementalist is a familiar PrC that's been done a hundred times before, and the Dilletante is your basic "can do everything, but nothing very well" PrC that will probably be abused by your resident rules-lawyer. The Gem Caster is an interesting idea, but if the concept intrigues you, you'd be better off picking up Monte Cook's "YEars best d20" - the PrC can be found there. The Pit Fighter is your typical Gladiator PrC. The Sidestepper - a rogue with teleport and ethereal abilities - gets the vote for my favourite PrC in this book, but that's probably because I'm a sucker for arcane rogue PrCs. I think it's a bit underpowered, to tell the honest truth.</p><p></p><p>Elite Prestige Classes are Prestige Classes for higher level PCs. And they're pretty much as bland as the "normal" PrCs - a "plantmaster", Arcane Warrior, Rogue Hunter, Undead Bane.... *sigh*. The temporal mage is an interesting idea - a time-travelling wizard - but I think I'd have to be crazy to allow something like that in my game. </p><p></p><p>The most interesting thing in chapter two happens to be the epic levels expansion. Typical advancement in D&D in epic levels is based around a growing feat list, but with no new class abilities. This book seeks to remedy that by adding new class abilities for levels 21-30, such as a cleric being able to call upon his deity's favour or a druid's ability to speak with animals at will. However, many of these abilities will only work in some campaigns - I highly doubt the bard's "Reputation" ability will come into play very often (c'mon... he's a 21st level bard! No doubt he's going to have an in-game reputation already!), and allowing the fighter to suddenly gain a leadership score seems to be a throwback to earlier editions of D&D. Really, though, if you play in Epic Games, you should at least check out this book. The epic expansions are at the very least more interesting than the official way of handling epic levels. </p><p></p><p>Chapter Three- Alternate Combat rules is one of those chapters a lot of people will love. I am not one of those people. The rules are heavy, and I don't think they add too much to the game. The various initiative rules seemed confusing to me. The critical fumble rules more or less amount to either a couple more die rolls that indicate "well, you missed" to even more die rolls that amount to a very frustrating "you cut your leg off". They might add a bit of humour to your game, when the groups fighter inevitably fumbles and takes out the whole party. </p><p></p><p>The Critical hits table is definately interesting, with pages upon PAGES of critical hits, individual locations that apply various modifiers to a character upon their completion. It might be interesting if you like having to go through a few tables of rolls everytime a critical occurs; I couldn't see myself using this.</p><p></p><p>The game carries on with its homage to 2e with rules that re-introduce weapon speeds, and a "phased combat" system that reminded me of 2e's Combat and Tactics. There is a Wound Level system that seems interesting, although I think I'd prefer the simpler system presented in Unearthed Arcana. </p><p></p><p>In fact, many of these combat additions are covered in other books in simpler, more elegant ways. </p><p></p><p>This also applies for chapter 4: Arcane Spellcasting systems. There is a mana- based system that works similarly to the one in Unearthed Arcana, and a skill-based casting system that allows a caster to cast spells without a limit... the spellcasting DC for the spell just increases the more times a spell is cast. This might add an element of drama to the game, as a caster knows that if he fails his roll at an innopportune moment, that much-needed heal won't occur. To me, though, it seems that allowing a player to cast fireball an unlimited times per game (with nothing but a higher DC stopping him from attempting to cast the spell) really boosts the power of spellcasters. </p><p></p><p>Chapter Five: Variant Magic is really just a bunch of new core classes, like the Aethersmith (much like Eberron's Artificer) and the Animist (something of a druid). There area few neat ideas, but as with the classes chapter, nothing here is really NEW to the game... they're just a few new ideas. All of the spellcasting classes seem weaker to me than standard D&D classes; I'll take a druid over the animist any day of the week.</p><p></p><p>The last chapter, Castles and Keep, is an interesting addition for a PLAYER'S book - the chapter focuses on creating communities for the PCs to adventure in. This is done by creating communities in a similar to way to creating PCs - down to a community selecting feats and skills. The system to create a community is interesting to play around with, and I created a few sample communities just for fun. However, I eventually decided that the system used in the DMG works much better (and is far less time-consuming) than the one in the Player's Guide; the city creation system in Races of Destiny is even better.</p><p></p><p>I found this book in a bargain bin; my gaming store was trying very hard to get rid of it. After reading the book, I can clearly see why. There is very little offered in this book that hasn't been done better somewhere else.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wik, post: 2895232, member: 40177"] [b]Well, it could be worse[/b] I'm a sucker for alternate-rules books for D&D. I have the Unearthed Arcana, and I must have read and re-read that book a hundred times. Anything that lets me tweak the game to better suit my personal tastes, and I'm happy. In fact, this little mania has reached the point that if a book I buy has even ONE PAGE of rules goodness that I can add to my game, I'm usually a happy camper. The Advanced Player's Guide didn't give me one thing that I thought was all that useful. Artistically, the book is very nice, though. There is a cross between traditional fantasy art and anime. The cover of the book, and the lettering of the title, is reminiscint of 2nd edition D&D - something I found enchanting, actually. Each chapter of the book deals with various rule expansions that stand alone. This is great for a "rules expansion" book, since it makes it very easy for DM's to pick and choose what rules they wish to add to their games. This was definately a plus for me; I know I would have been miffed if the game introduced a new system or a mechanic that infused every rule in the book. (it can happen; 2e's Skills and Powers is an excellent example, although WotC's Heroes of Horror book, with it's emphasis on the taint mechanics, also springs to mind). The first chapter of this book focuses on "character options", although there is no way I would let any of my players NEAR this part of the book. The first idea, "Heroic merits" and "Tragic flaws" is an interesting one - namely, if a character has weak ability scores, he gets a "boost" in power, while characters with high ability scores suffer from a "flaw". All in all, the idea is in intriguing one, although it is carried out poorly. As an example, a character with a low wisdom could gain a bonus to will saves against fear effects. An interesting idea, but this merit is only possible if the character ALSO has a high intelligence... which sort of cancels out the whole idea. The idea of hitting players who rolled well on their abilities with some sort of flaw also annoys me a bit, and I imagine it would anger my players, as well. Since there is no cpmpensation for taking a tragic flaw, the decision to use this system is entirely in the DM's hands. A big problem here is, of course, that players will feel "punished" for their high ability scores. Also, it seems to me that the tragic flaws are more harmful than the heroic merits are beneficial - it almost seems like this system is designed to harm high-rolling players. I doubt the system would work well if a feat compensation system was worked out, either - Unearthed Arcana accomplished this idea much better, in my opinion. Racial Class Modifiers, in the same chapter, reminds me a lot of the racial substitution class levels, and I think some of the ideas presented could be used as such. But they are a "something for nothing" addition that pretty much serves to make every single PC slightly better. More or less, the system works like this: you take a class, and you take a racial ability (such as a dwarven fighter's +1 bonus on all will saves, or an elven ranger's +2 bonus on all spot checks) allowable by your race. While this is another interesting idea, the mechanical implementation of the idea is poor at best. Some of the racial abilities are salvageable; I'd suggest a DM take these racial modifiers and use them in specially-created racial substitution levels. The Second Chapter, based around classes, doesn't really add anything new to the game, except for some bland PrCs. The new Prestige Classes are alright, I suppose, although I don't feel they add anything new to the game. They certainly aren't new rules expansions. The Gallowglass is a heavy-armour PrC for players obsessed with AC. The Elementalist is a familiar PrC that's been done a hundred times before, and the Dilletante is your basic "can do everything, but nothing very well" PrC that will probably be abused by your resident rules-lawyer. The Gem Caster is an interesting idea, but if the concept intrigues you, you'd be better off picking up Monte Cook's "YEars best d20" - the PrC can be found there. The Pit Fighter is your typical Gladiator PrC. The Sidestepper - a rogue with teleport and ethereal abilities - gets the vote for my favourite PrC in this book, but that's probably because I'm a sucker for arcane rogue PrCs. I think it's a bit underpowered, to tell the honest truth. Elite Prestige Classes are Prestige Classes for higher level PCs. And they're pretty much as bland as the "normal" PrCs - a "plantmaster", Arcane Warrior, Rogue Hunter, Undead Bane.... *sigh*. The temporal mage is an interesting idea - a time-travelling wizard - but I think I'd have to be crazy to allow something like that in my game. The most interesting thing in chapter two happens to be the epic levels expansion. Typical advancement in D&D in epic levels is based around a growing feat list, but with no new class abilities. This book seeks to remedy that by adding new class abilities for levels 21-30, such as a cleric being able to call upon his deity's favour or a druid's ability to speak with animals at will. However, many of these abilities will only work in some campaigns - I highly doubt the bard's "Reputation" ability will come into play very often (c'mon... he's a 21st level bard! No doubt he's going to have an in-game reputation already!), and allowing the fighter to suddenly gain a leadership score seems to be a throwback to earlier editions of D&D. Really, though, if you play in Epic Games, you should at least check out this book. The epic expansions are at the very least more interesting than the official way of handling epic levels. Chapter Three- Alternate Combat rules is one of those chapters a lot of people will love. I am not one of those people. The rules are heavy, and I don't think they add too much to the game. The various initiative rules seemed confusing to me. The critical fumble rules more or less amount to either a couple more die rolls that indicate "well, you missed" to even more die rolls that amount to a very frustrating "you cut your leg off". They might add a bit of humour to your game, when the groups fighter inevitably fumbles and takes out the whole party. The Critical hits table is definately interesting, with pages upon PAGES of critical hits, individual locations that apply various modifiers to a character upon their completion. It might be interesting if you like having to go through a few tables of rolls everytime a critical occurs; I couldn't see myself using this. The game carries on with its homage to 2e with rules that re-introduce weapon speeds, and a "phased combat" system that reminded me of 2e's Combat and Tactics. There is a Wound Level system that seems interesting, although I think I'd prefer the simpler system presented in Unearthed Arcana. In fact, many of these combat additions are covered in other books in simpler, more elegant ways. This also applies for chapter 4: Arcane Spellcasting systems. There is a mana- based system that works similarly to the one in Unearthed Arcana, and a skill-based casting system that allows a caster to cast spells without a limit... the spellcasting DC for the spell just increases the more times a spell is cast. This might add an element of drama to the game, as a caster knows that if he fails his roll at an innopportune moment, that much-needed heal won't occur. To me, though, it seems that allowing a player to cast fireball an unlimited times per game (with nothing but a higher DC stopping him from attempting to cast the spell) really boosts the power of spellcasters. Chapter Five: Variant Magic is really just a bunch of new core classes, like the Aethersmith (much like Eberron's Artificer) and the Animist (something of a druid). There area few neat ideas, but as with the classes chapter, nothing here is really NEW to the game... they're just a few new ideas. All of the spellcasting classes seem weaker to me than standard D&D classes; I'll take a druid over the animist any day of the week. The last chapter, Castles and Keep, is an interesting addition for a PLAYER'S book - the chapter focuses on creating communities for the PCs to adventure in. This is done by creating communities in a similar to way to creating PCs - down to a community selecting feats and skills. The system to create a community is interesting to play around with, and I created a few sample communities just for fun. However, I eventually decided that the system used in the DMG works much better (and is far less time-consuming) than the one in the Player's Guide; the city creation system in Races of Destiny is even better. I found this book in a bargain bin; my gaming store was trying very hard to get rid of it. After reading the book, I can clearly see why. There is very little offered in this book that hasn't been done better somewhere else. [/QUOTE]
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